Help Me Lose Weight!

[Jason Beck]

2) oatmeal isn't great for weight loss. I am referring to regular old-fashion oatmeal. The oatmeal that comes in the little bags is a BIG no no. It has a ton of sugar. Overall, oatmeal is a great weight gainer, good for people who are trying to bulk up after weight lifting etc.


Thats why you buy the real Oatmeal. The steel-cut raw oats that give you a lot of fiber and other goodness. Oatmeal is good for weight loss when you eat a serving size for breakfast and don't go overboard. The carbs will fuel you throughout your day and pump up your cardio a _lot_. Tonight I am going to go run about 8 miles, and the little bowl of oatmeal with a piece of fruit I had this morning will give me an edge.

You are correct though that you shouldn't eat the packet oatmeal. Those are insanely bad for weight loss with all the sugar and preservatives. You can buy the light kind and incorporate it into your diet though.

You don't need wild blueberry muffin oatmeal.

My diet for example is very high in vegetables. Being vegetarian it is really nice to have all the energy and nutrients from the amount of veggies I consume. I get my protein from other sources and I take a daily vitamin. I feel really good, and have so much energy it is unreal.

Maybe consider going vegetarian for a bit.

Bottom line is, the best thing I heard in this thread is that this is a lifestyle change. Find what works for you. Count your calories and remember a calorie is a calorie. Steer clear of sweets and fast food. Eat natural foods with the least amount of ingredients possible. Avoid high fructose corn syrup. Eating salad does not mean eating salad with cups of ranch. Use a light dressing. Myself, I use fat-free salad dressing. It may not be as thick as the other real ones but it is good nonetheless. Lighthouse makes excellent dressing. Spritzers are good too. Low calorie salad dressing alternatives.

A good snack I have at night once in a while if I am hungry is a bag of light popcorn. Split it with someone and have a glass of something to drink. Makes a great snack.

Also try to cut a lot of salt out of your diet. Salt will make you retain water and hinder your weight loss. You want results when you get on the treadmill. You want buckets of sweat! : )

You don't need a trainer, just some dedication : ).

 

[Macky-Mac]

if you find yourself going out to eat, divide your meal into two right away and take half of it home to eat the next day. Restaurants inevitably give you way too much and eating it all gives you way too many calories

 

[Jason Beck]

if you find yourself going out to eat, divide your meal into two right away and take half of it home to eat the next day. Restaurants inevitably give you way too much and eating it all gives you way too many calories

Good tip right there. Take home food is so much fun from restaurants! LEFTOVERS!

 

[puma1552]

Jason--your 130 lb picture is a massive bit of motivation for me, and exactly what my weight and appearance goals are...great job!

I am 5'5" and at worst weighed about 162. I decided to make a lifestyle change, and got a gym membership a bit over a year ago, and have been a LOT better about what I've been eating. I'm currently 150, and want to get to 130, but this weight loss has come over a year not of hard dieting, but of generally watching what I eat and taking everything in moderation so I don't fail. I haven't thus far really cut anything out per se, but I've been better at eating fruits/veggies/white meat (not cooked in any oil, a bit harder to cook but not bad) and doing lots of cardio.

However I've plateaued at 150 for quite a while (I was at 145 for a brief time but stabilized at 150), and I'm getting serious now. I want to be you in your after picture, not a porky little 150 like I am now (I guess I just don't wear it well). Yesterday was my day off at the gym (closed), but for dinner I ate yogurt, canned peaches, an apple, a few almonds, and water.

My other problem has been never getting up early enough for breakfast even though I know it's the most important meal, well I stopped that this morning and woke up early enough to eat it--a few almonds, a zero calorie "zeri" (like 0 calorie gelatin but not full of sugar like jello), a yogurt, and some water. For lunch today I have an apple, a small salad, water, yogurt, and a 0 calorie zeri.

Going to start drinking a lot of water again too, got pretty bad about that lately.

So to the OP--it's a lifestyle change, a year in I consider myself 50-75% of the way there, but still haven't made the entire transformation. Find what works, and start out small--if you diet hardcore right away, you WILL fail--start with the diet and just start taking in less, even if what you take in still isn't great to start with. For me, not cutting everything out but just taking in less and making sure to strictly limit how much bad stuff I was taking in helped me get into the swing of things, without going crazy--it's a year later and I'm still going to the gym, and still being fairly careful with what I eat, and now that my body has adjusted to that change and stabilized (aka what seems to be relatively permanent weight loss since it happened over time as opposed to sheer body shock, keep in mind your body likes 'homeostasis'), I'm now picking it up to drop that last 20 pounds, which is also by far the hardest twenty to lose.

Good luck!! Keep us updated, use this thread as a log.

Also Jason--how long did it take you to get down to 130 pounds, and how tall are you?

 

[Jason Beck]

Jason--your 130 lb picture is a massive bit of motivation for me, and exactly what my weight and appearance goals are...great job!

Also Jason--how long did it take you to get down to 130 pounds, and how tall are you?

It took honestly a good year. Like people are saying, losing 2-5 pounds a week is a realistic and healthy way to lose it. I lost probably 2-3 pounds a week. Thanks dude! It was so much work, and the most massive results were off the treadmill. Running, although hard on your body, produce fast and good results. Buy some good shoes too! I would like to attach my workout journal. It is in Excel, just open it up and have a look. A good journal will do wonders for enhancing your progress!

As far as my height, I am 5'7" tall. So when I was 220ish I really didn't feel too good. A lot of weight in a smallish/average frame. I feel soooo much better now! my back doesn't hurt and it feels good to have wind again. In the past 2 years I quit smoking too and that has HELPED a bunch.

Also, when you do lose the stomach, your skin does tighten up, but it takes a lonnnng time. What I have found that works good on accelerating the process is the Nivea Anti-Cellulite creams. They are pricey but they also really firm your skin. Myself and my wife have noticed my stomach really tightening up now. Take some vitamin E pills/fish oil pills to also help this out. I was worried that after losing 80 pounds I would need a tummy tuck or something to get rid of excess skin... but it looks like it is tightening up rather well. Last week I got my body fat measured at Gold's and I am at 6.5%. Quite the change from 45%!

Get the gusto, get motivated! Get on those eliptical, treads and bikes and BURN that fat off. You can surely do it. Journal your progress, take baby steps and set goals and in a few weeks you will be on a good road! I attached my Excel journal below. Have a look! : )

 

[puma1552]

Awesome, thanks! I always run at least 5 km, but usually 6 and occasionally 7 or as high as nine, and on days I go to the gym I try to hop on the bike for another 10km right after. That's the other thing, I need to do it more. I'm currently going about 3 times a week but I need to get to at LEAST 4 times a week, if not five. My body is plenty used to it now so I think it's time to up the frequency. The running is good, but I think I need new shoes; I've had a nice pair of the Nike + iPod Bowermans but while they look good still I feel that after two years of use they probably are overdue for replacement.

Couple questions:

1) Did you find it much harder to lose the last 20-30 pounds as opposed to the first 20-30 pounds? What did you do to really pick it up to lose the last bit of weight?

2) What do you think of zero calorie foods? OK to eat a lot of them, a waste of eating since there's no calories for my body to process (though my body still has to work to process it somehow I suppose), etc?

TIP: If you want to use the exercise bike at the gym, you should really do it after a run; I've noticed if I start with the bike, even going hard it takes a long time to get to my target heart rate, but if I run I can hit my target heart rate in probably the first five minutes, so by the time I get to the bike 100% of that time I'm already at my target heart rate and don't waste a lot of the time trying to get there; the key is to go straight from the treadmill to the bike and watch your heart rate. Sitting around being lazy with a magazine won't get you anywhere

 

[Jason Beck]

Couple questions:

1) Did you find it much harder to lose the last 20-30 pounds as opposed to the first 20-30 pounds? What did you do to really pick it up to lose the last bit of weight?

2) What do you think of zero calorie foods? OK to eat a lot of them, a waste of eating since there's no calories for my body to process (though my body still has to work to process it somehow I suppose), etc?

TIP: If you want to use the exercise bike at the gym, you should really do it after a run;

I agree! I tend to ustilize the back sometimes after a long run. It helps to loosen up a bit from the run and I am not as sore at times. Some zero calorie foods are pretty decent. I usually just ingest those in liquid form. Like Diet Coke if I do have a soda, or some other zero calorie soda. Or sports drinks with decent nutrients but low or zero cals.

The last little bit was ROUGH. Thats where you really start to plateue and you need to mix it up and get it on more at the gym. Really that last 20-30 depends on you "upping" your game. It will come off slowly with good decent die and exercise.. but really upping it, setting goals, small milestones and shaking things up will really rock you out.

All i did was really start running more. I went from just 5k to doing 10k once or twice a week and starting to add a lot of crunches lately. I only recently really started crunching my abs.

Hey I want you guys to know I started weight training today. Well, in a small way. I started doing my curls with my 35 pound weight. Just a few sets, but I feel it!!!

So there you have it, just up your game incrementally. Give it your all. Go all out and you will see results. Get hungry! In an exercise way. I am conifdent that anyone that reads this thread, and wants to do it, can. I was fat, girls never looked at me, I sat at home like in that picture playing tony hawk and watching oodles of anime. Warcraft. Yah, then I woke up and said screw it. Fitness, if you want it to, will become and integrated part of your life.

When you start shedding the weight you will feel sooo good. Don't get suckered into anything not-natural. Do it naturally, do it right. You will feel stronger inside. Right now even after writing this I wanna do more crunches. Talking about this stuff really gets me amped! I wish a few of you that are on here lived near me because I seriously don't have any gym buddies. I had to do allll this alone. But i seriously love to be around like minded people. If you can, get a support network of friends going on.

 

[puma1552]

Sweet, yeah this last 20-25 is going to be the absolute worst. I just ran 8k and feel pretty good, think I had another 2k in me or so--it was pretty painless. Not sure if that's just because I took yesterday off (I have run 8-9k more than a couple times like tonight), or if it's a product of drinking 2L of water so far today (I've peed 11 times) and eating a bunch of fruit and salads in small portions throughout the day...or maybe it's psychological since I'm getting pumped again...either way it feels good!

Now I'm eating a chicken caesar salad, and my last meal of the night will be a pure fruit smoothie (no milk)...I went out and bought a crappy little blender and some kiwis and strawberries tonight so that will be my desert.

That was probably the biggest lifestyle change I had to make OP--eating fruits and vegetables. Until a year ago you couldn't get me to touch either, no way no how, I used to go to Taco Bell and get tacos with no lettuce, that's how bad I hated vegetables. But I started buying bagged salads, the simple lettuce kinds and forced myself to get into them--the only way they were palatable for me was to add a good bit of dressing (too much admittedly) and croutons, and some chicken. But, it worked--now I eat salad fairly often and have been able to cut back on the amount of dressing (though I still need to cut back more). Admittedly I still can't eat a plain carrot or whatever, has to be in salad format. The other thing is fruit. No way no how--hated the cold slimy texture of fruit, and to this day still do--I won't touch an orange or a mikan in natural form, but I've come around to be able to eat berries without any problem, and watermelon. The rest of the stuff? I'm hoping smoothie format takes care of that--buying kiwis tonight was the first time in my life. So again--that's just showing part of the lifestyle change I've had to make. I've accepted these things, but I haven't been able to come full circle, but I'm getting there slowly. So, I don't know OP if you hate fruit/veggies and they make you gag like I did, but either way that's just showing how you're going to have to make a real lifestyle change.

Good luck!

 

[Jason Beck]

Sweet, yeah this last 20-25 is going to be the absolute worst. I just ran 8k and feel pretty good, think I had another 2k in me or so--it was pretty painless. Not sure if that's just because I took yesterday off (I have run 8-9k more than a couple times like tonight), or if it's a product of drinking 2L of water so far today (I've peed 11 times) and eating a bunch of fruit and salads in small portions throughout the day...or maybe it's psychological since I'm getting pumped again...either way it feels good!

Now I'm eating a chicken caesar salad, and my last meal of the night will be a pure fruit smoothie (no milk)...I went out and bought a crappy little blender and some kiwis and strawberries tonight so that will be my desert.

That was probably the biggest lifestyle change I had to make OP--eating fruits and vegetables. Until a year ago you couldn't get me to touch either, no way no how, I used to go to Taco Bell and get tacos with no lettuce, that's how bad I hated vegetables. But I started buying bagged salads, the simple lettuce kinds and forced myself to get into them--the only way they were palatable for me was to add a good bit of dressing (too much admittedly) and croutons, and some chicken. But, it worked--now I eat salad fairly often and have been able to cut back on the amount of dressing (though I still need to cut back more). Admittedly I still can't eat a plain carrot or whatever, has to be in salad format. The other thing is fruit. No way no how--hated the cold slimy texture of fruit, and to this day still do--I won't touch an orange or a mikan in natural form, but I've come around to be able to eat berries without any problem, and watermelon. The rest of the stuff? I'm hoping smoothie format takes care of that--buying kiwis tonight was the first time in my life. So again--that's just showing part of the lifestyle change I've had to make. I've accepted these things, but I haven't been able to come full circle, but I'm getting there slowly. So, I don't know OP if you hate fruit/veggies and they make you gag like I did, but either way that's just showing how you're going to have to make a real lifestyle change.

Good luck!

MMMMMM KIWIS.

 

[fernandovalente]

I've been fat. Don't eat more than you need. Most people consider food as a way of having fun, and that's a problem. I stopped eating more than I really need and I lost weight that way. Also, some exercise helped to.

 

[GFLPraxis]

So, I don't know OP if you hate fruit/veggies and they make you gag like I did, but either way that's just showing how you're going to have to make a real lifestyle change.

Actually, I *love* fruits and vegetables, and am commonly disappointed in the low quality of them in my region (having lived in Holland, Italy, and SoCal). What I would give for a good watermelon...

However, I have a bad tendency to not eat any because of cooking for convenience. I've always had a lot of grains (sandwiches, burgers, rice, pasta), more than anything.

So, if I can adjust my lifestyle to eat more veggies, it won't be that tough to make myself eat them.

I ate two eggs before leaving, and I brought with me a bell pepper, orange, banana, and two hardboiled eggs- plus I have some beef jerky at work.

Will I be better off putting this in solid meals, or eating it gradually through the day?

I'll run down to the gym at work for 15-20 minutes during my lunch break again, as I did yesterday, as well.

 

[Jason Beck]

Today was fantastic! It was about 80 outside for the first time in weeks so I went and ran 10k and then a mile or two over. It felt so GOOD. I love summer. Your water weight just falls right off. I had a really good watermelon smoothie from my wife's work afterwards.

 

[RITZFit]

Wish I could do that, especially in this heat (its usually 90+ here)! Its easier for me to go bawls out in the dead of winter. I've lost close to 30 lb over the past two yrs (mostly during winter months) just from getting out and jogging more often and managing my meals better. It really feels good when you have friends going "Dude! you got crazy skinny!"

 

[iOrlando]

Actually, I *love* fruits and vegetables, and am commonly disappointed in the low quality of them in my region (having lived in Holland, Italy, and SoCal). What I would give for a good watermelon...

However, I have a bad tendency to not eat any because of cooking for convenience. I've always had a lot of grains (sandwiches, burgers, rice, pasta), more than anything.

So, if I can adjust my lifestyle to eat more veggies, it won't be that tough to make myself eat them.

I ate two eggs before leaving, and I brought with me a bell pepper, orange, banana, and two hardboiled eggs- plus I have some beef jerky at work.

Will I be better off putting this in solid meals, or eating it gradually through the day?

I'll run down to the gym at work for 15-20 minutes during my lunch break again, as I did yesterday, as well.

i'm still not liking your diet habits haha.

but in all seriousness, what is the deal with the eggs? why do you eat so many of them? eating 4 eggs a day is not the best.

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/111/2
this link has info for 5 eggs at a time - 340% of daily cholesterol value.

also beef jerky is pretty horrible for you. the sodium alone is killer.

http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-beef-jerky-i19002

yes, these things might be causing weight loss, but my concern is with the impact it may be having on your heart.

 

[Keebler]

I went from 225 to 130. 45% body fat to 6%. I used to have a 42 inch waist and now it's a trim 26-28 inches. All I did was quit drinking soda, switched to diet, limited my caloric intake to 1500 calories a day, low carbed it, and did a lot of cardio. Diet and exercise is all you need, and it all comes down to how bad you want it. No one can hold your hand. Here are some useful pointers and before and afters of me.

1500 calorie a day diet
low carb
lots of veggies
lots of water
fruit
white meat only (serving should be the size of a deck of cards)
get a gym membership
read about fitness in your spare time
do a lot of cardio. you have to sweat that fat off. like... 5 times a week for 45 mins burning at least 400 calories a session is a good starter point to aim to.
walk an extra 2200 steps a day (that equals 100 calories)
no sweets, have natural good snacks.
wake up early
eat the majority of your calories at breakfast, 4-500, then divide the rest of the 1500 during the day eating 3 more small meals the size of your fist.
1 100-150 calorie snack, low fat preferably! You pick. Just not a candy bar LOL.


Thats how i did it. I started by not even being able to finish a mile. Now I am running 5k 3 times a week and 10k twice a week. I burn at least 500 calories a day at the gym or outside. Yesterday i ran 7 miles outside. It feels good, and anyone reading this can do it too! I used to be the fat kid! But not anymore!

+1

folks sometimes make losing weight harder than it is.

Jason's post hits it bang on:

1. discipline to stick to your plan (make sure you have a goal!)
2. eating right
3. exercising

it's all about calories in, calories out. if you eat the right calories then you simply need to burn more than you're eating. it's a math question (that needs to be consistent).

I'm 5'2" and weight 158 which wasn't good. alot of fat. i'm down to 140 and been as low as 133 until I hurt my back and didn't remain disciplined (i discovered then when I hurt, I eat so I banned junk food in the house

oh, and drink your water too. helps flush the body and provide that 'full feeling'. helps with digestion and bodily fluid movements very important.

Jason, very motivating! I remember seeing your post before. That's quite an accomplishment - you put years BACK on your life doing that congrats!

Cheers,
keebler

 

[Jason Beck]

+1

folks sometimes make losing weight harder than it is.

Jason's post hits it bang on:

1. discipline to stick to your plan (make sure you have a goal!)
2. eating right
3. exercising

it's all about calories in, calories out. if you eat the right calories then you simply need to burn more than you're eating. it's a math question (that needs to be consistent).

I'm 5'2" and weight 158 which wasn't good. alot of fat. i'm down to 140 and been as low as 133 until I hurt my back and didn't remain disciplined (i discovered then when I hurt, I eat so I banned junk food in the house

oh, and drink your water too. helps flush the body and provide that 'full feeling'. helps with digestion and bodily fluid movements very important.

Jason, very motivating! I remember seeing your post before. That's quite an accomplishment - you put years BACK on your life doing that congrats!

Cheers,
keebler

Thanks.. Yah it's really a blast once you get going. You feel like nothing can stop you. You _want_ to do it. Especially once you get in the good habit of doing a lot of cardio. It has a major impact and changes your life considerably. Once you see a big change, like going from a 42 to 28" waist and having to buy small-medium sized shirts.. then things really start to fall into place. It's amazing how much that can fuel you in your daily routine.

I really hope I put some years back into my life. I was smoking since I was like about 14-15 years old and stealing my mother's cigarettes! So quitting, and sticking to it when I was 28 was hard but I did it. No cheating too. When you stop, you get all your wind back. I was even diagnosed with Asthma when I was little and always on an inhaler, so when I started getting my wind back, well wind I never had really, I stopped needing my inhaler. I have not touched it in years now. It's been worth it.

To get your heart pumping and feel it, the ground moving by beneath your feet and some good tunes in your ears is my idea of a drug these days. I am so addicted to running.

My advice to everyone, replace your addiction to food with a positive addiction to fitness. But oh my God I do know how good Lil' Smokies and a beer are. : ) Thanks for the props! I'll try to keep it up. If I even inspire one person to get out more, it makes it all worth it.

 

[GFLPraxis]

When you say white meat only- can I also include Fish? Shrimp? Shellfish (especially mussels)?

iOrlando- I recently started eating eggs for breakfast as a routine- I used to hodgepodge together something, depending on how rushed I was to get to work, sometimes missing breakfast altogether.

Now, if I'm good on time I make some eggs, and if I'm not, I throw two eggs in water to boil while I jump in the shower. Seems to work. And I've got some instant oatmeal at work if I need it. Also, Easy-Mac, but I think I'll be avoiding using that now

I can reduce it to 2 eggs though, if its dangerous.

I'll go grab a calorie-tracker iPad app too.

 

[jjvdhoef]

While diet is important, imho exercise if more essential.

recent research has shown that nutrition is much more important, and that exercise can even increase hunger and negate any weightloss.

From my personal experience (I've lost about 30 kg in a year), I can say that I just ate way too much. Talk to a dietician, and learn what your calorie requirements are. The advise in this thread is really good btw!

 

[jjvdhoef]

When you say white meat only- can I also include Fish? Shrimp? Shellfish (especially mussels)?

Fish is great. Especially mussels which are high in protein, low in calories. And yummy

 

[anjinha]

- Pasta is bad...as an Italian, this will be hardest for me. Pasta is my favorite thing to cook, and I make my own white sauce sometimes. But, alright. Special occasions only then.

Don't listen to the crazy "no carbs" people. You can eat carbs but it's very easy to eat too much of it. If you really want to eat some pasta just try to eat small portions of it and control your carbs everywhere else.

 

[Jason Beck]

Don't listen to the crazy "no carbs" people. You can eat carbs but it's very easy to eat too much of it. If you really want to eat some pasta just try to eat small portions of it and control your carbs everywhere else.

I agree. Some carbs are good, you need some in moderation. That's why I prefer to get a grip of them at breakfast with a few small meals throughout the day. I love pizza, I love bread, I love pasta, and psychologically speaking I have little self control when I am around those dishes so I tend to avoid them.

If you do want pasta or pizza, its cool, get a small pizza. Thin crust. Load up on the veggies, ask for half the cheese. It's good stuff. Get some fat-free ranch to dip it in.. meh I <3 Ranch.

Pasta.. cook your own and cook a serving only, and one for company if you have someone else there. If me and my wife do pasta we do 2 servings. Dish up the sauce in 2 servings and have a nice big PHAT salad next to it.

Really, once you are there and you are at the weight you want you can eat pretty much anything you want if you keep your entire meal a little over the size of your fist and do your cardio routine 4-5 times a week. It's all I do to maintain right now. I do have sporadic times when I will sit with the wife and KILL, utterly destroy a bag of kettle chips or doritos. But, I burn it off the next day -- and I make a mental note to do so.

Pasta, and carbs are not your enemy. They will fuel your workout. Pasta once a week is awesome. But if you are trying to get a good cardio routine, for me anyways, carbs +1 in the morning works.

To each/his her own. It's a long grueling road weight loss is. hahaha

 

[puma1552]

smoothie time again--this time went with half a pack of strawberries, a lemon, ice, and strawberry yogurt...not bad!

tip OP--since you like fruit, i was doing research yesterday and strawberries and watermelon (especially strawberries) seem to be excellent for weight loss

down a little on the weight this morning and i havent dropped a deuce in a few days either, so good things coming haha

 

[Jason Beck]

smoothie time again--this time went with half a pack of strawberries, a lemon, ice, and strawberry yogurt...not bad!

tip OP--since you like fruit, i was doing research yesterday and strawberries and watermelon (especially strawberries) seem to be excellent for weight loss

down a little on the weight this morning and i havent dropped a deuce in a few days either, so good things coming haha

My wife manages a Hogi/Yogi / Teryaki Stix food place here so I stop by mid run and grab a watermelon smoothie all the time. Today it hit the spot. Plus free Asian food for dinner all the time. Can't complain. I usually do a veggie bowl, and am careful to eat a single serving of rice. It's easy to go overboard on rice because the serving size is like a half cup / 200 calories. I just tell her to load up on the veggies and I douse it with some low calorie / low sodium Kikkoman Soy Sauce that we have at home.

Ordered some way cool chopsticks off Ebay a few months ago. Might have to post a pic soon. Hand carved/painted and they have little pandas on em. LOL. It's funny when she tried to eat with em.

 

[GFLPraxis]

Update:

I weighed 227 when I started this thread. On the same scale (the one in the basement at my work), I am now 220 Seven down already!

I'm not being as strict as I should, admittedly- I was invited to dinner over the weekend and they didn't serve it until 8 and it was amazing and I gorged and felt horribly guilty, though I got full much faster than I usually would- but I've already revised my habits somewhat.

Changes:

*I'm eating mostly fish/crab/shrimp/mussels for meats with some chicken occasionally (cooked on my own stove)

* I haven't eaten out at all, and eating smaller portions. I made this change about a year ago, but I'm not drinking any soda either.

* I'm minimizing my consumption of bread/carbs (not completely eliminated, but I'm probably consuming about 1/4th the amount I used to)

* I'm eating a lot more fruits/vegetables (bought a lot of bell peppers, avocados, strawberries, watermelon, artichoke, and broccoli)

* I'm drinking 2-3 times more water than usual

* I'm taking a light 20-minute workout during lunch breaks in the gym at my work.

* I'm probably eating about 30-40% less food than I usually would.


So far I've noticed a lower appetite, and lost seven pounds

Next goal is to get a little more exercise.

 

[puma1552]

My wife manages a Hogi/Yogi / Teryaki Stix food place here so I stop by mid run and grab a watermelon smoothie all the time. Today it hit the spot. Plus free Asian food for dinner all the time. Can't complain. I usually do a veggie bowl, and am careful to eat a single serving of rice. It's easy to go overboard on rice because the serving size is like a half cup / 200 calories. I just tell her to load up on the veggies and I douse it with some low calorie / low sodium Kikkoman Soy Sauce that we have at home.

Ordered some way cool chopsticks off Ebay a few months ago. Might have to post a pic soon. Hand carved/painted and they have little pandas on em. LOL. It's funny when she tried to eat with em.

Yeah I'm living in Japan so it's a bit hard to get around all the awesome food and rice, but so far I'm doing good.

Guess I'll post a little update here too.

Last night I hit a personal milestone, I ran my first 10k over 54 minutes, so 11.1 kph average, pretty good I felt!

The other nights I've kicked it up from 6k to 8k as my new standard jog, and have ran 8 of the last 11 days, so I think I'm doing great there.

I've been taking in 1400-1700 calories a day (usually on the lower end of that), and been eating clean--I drink 2-3L of water a day, and I started eating breakfast, albeit a small one of maybe a couple breakfast bars and a bit of fruit and water, and maybe a yogurt, and I then eat a few small meals throughout the day, usually consisting of fruit/salad/chicken breast (no oil)/salmon, and maybe a breakfast bar somewhere midday as my little sweet. Haven't been eating 3 hours or so before bed.

A couple weeks ago I was 70.7 kg (about 155 lbs), though that may have been a fluke as I was consistently 69.8-70.1 for a few weeks before that. This morning I weighed in at 67.4 kg. I dropped quickly at first (possibly water weight from a low-sodium intake) and now the weight loss is starting to slow (I was 67.6 the past two days).

What I find surprising is how I can eat so little calorie-wise and go for long runs and still feel energized/not hungry. There were a couple days where I was looking to eat a little more just for the sake of taking in more than 1200 calories since I know too little is unhealthy.

My questions are as follows:

1) Currently eating fruit/salad/chicken/salmon, what else is good? Is it ok to have a single piece of peanut butter toast in the morning, or maybe 2 scrambled eggs once a week (i never ever eat eggs but I like em just fine)? What about 200g of rice (a single serving of rice here in Japan in prepackaged containers I can nuke) topped with veggies? I'm looking to branch out a little bit in terms of variety to lessen the chances of breaking my diet. Most of all I'm looking for a way to balance my diet but still remain clean--I don't want to find myself in a situation of eating the same five foods only and depriving my body of other fats or whatever which will end up putting my body into starvation mode to hoard any fats or anything it gets on the rare treat night I may eat a little ice cream or whatever.

2) When I hit the inevitable plateau, which I will and probably very soon, what's the best way to break it? Everyone says just change things up, change your calorie intake or the time that you exercise or whatever for a few days, but in the past that hasn't worked for me, it's been a total, TOTAL b*tch to break a plateau. Tips welcome.